The Circus by Erasure

The Circus is the second studio album by Erasure, released on 30 March 1987 by Mute Records in Germany and the UK and 7 July 1987 by Sire Records in the USA. It was Erasure's second consecutive album to be produced by Flood. The Circus became the duo's breakthrough in the UK, spawning four hit singles and reaching number six. It was an immediate success thanks to the number two UK placing of the first single "Sometimes", six months earlier. The album remains Erasure's longest-running on the UK charts. Although mainstream success in the U.S. did not occur with this album, it did generate two hits (including a number-one) on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. It also became their first record to enter into the Billboard 200. The Two Ring Circus, also released in 1987, is a double 12" remix album that served as a companion piece to The Circus. It includes remixes and re-recordings along with live bonus tracks on the cassette and CD versions.